Author: weeklywinejournal

Not many people can trace their profession back five generations. Joseph Wagner, however, is one of those people. Joseph’s father and grandparents founded a little winery called Caymus back in 1971. Thirty years later at the ripe old age of nineteen, Joseph started work on creating his own single vineyard Pinot Noir label. He named it Belle Glos, after his grandmother. You might recognize the distinct wine bottle with loads of red wax running down the side. Not long after, Joseph and the family created the Meiomi brand. Meiomi is now “the leading luxury Pinot Noir in the U.S.” according to the winery literature.

Meiomi differs from Belle Glos in several ways. Most obvious is the sourcing of the fruit. While Belle Glos focuses on creating single vineyard wines, Meiomi’s wines are a blend of three of California’s most well known coastal AVA’s. Also, Meiomi recently introduced Chardonnay to the lineup, while Belle Glos continues to focus solely on Pinot. Lastly, the price points are a little different. Belle Glos retails in the $40-$50 range while Meiomi retails in the $20-$25 range.

The American Viticultural Areas (AVA’s) Meiomi sources their fruit from included Sonoma County, Monterey County and Santa Barbara County. Each area imparts it’s distinct characteristics on the wine and helps to create a consistent wine year after year. A wine that is suited quite well for restaurant settings: consistent, drink now, great price points.

The Wines:

Meiomi 2013 Pinot Noir

37% Monterey County, 34% Sonoma County, 29% Santa Barbara County

Deep garnet in color with a nose of strawberry and vanilla oak. The palate takes on plum, cherry and subtle cinnamon notes, with a medium body and a creamy smooth finish. This wine is a ripe, fruit forward wine and if you’ve enjoyed previous vintages of Meiomi Pinot Noir you should really like this one. The wine was aged in 100% French oak with 60% of that being new and the alcohol comes in at 13.8%. Retail price $21.99. Weekly Wine Journal rating 91 points.

Meiomi 2013 Chardonnay

49% Santa Barbara County, 30% Sonoma County, 21% Monterey County

Golden straw in color with a nose of tropical fruit. On the palate, pear, pineapple and a little minerality. This wine underwent malolactic fermentation which gives it a nice creamy mouthfeel and softness. Alcohol also comes in at 13.8% and retails for $21.99. Weekly Wine Journal rating 90 points.

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With Christmas rapidly approaching and only a few weeks left to shop, you might need some ideas..quick! Here’s a short list of the most interesting things public relations firms and advertising agencies have emailed me over the last several month:

Wine of the Month Club Membership

The “Original” Wine of the Month Club, founded in 1972 (the best year ever in my opinion) Wine can be a difficult thing to buy for other people, so this is a gift that takes that pressure off. Each month Wine of the Month Club tastes over 400 wines with only about 60 making the potential selection list and only about 4 making the actual selection. And they’ve been doing this for a long time, so they know what to look for. They’re not looking for the brands that anyone can buy anywhere. They’re looking for hidden and undervalued gems in the $10-$20 range, and you only pay $21.95 a month for 2 bottles, every month! And that’s just the standard membership. There are several different tiers of membership and you can choose to receive 1 red 1 white, or 2 of each. The top tier is about $40 a month and for that members receive 2 bottles a month of wine that retails for $25-$30 a bottle. There’s just too many exciting options to put in this article, head over to wineofthemonthclub.com for all the information.

XXIV Karat Sparkling Wines

Invented by two Arizona State Grads in 2012, and sourced with wine from Mendocino County this is one of the most unusual wine products I’ve ever seen. The wines retail for about $40 a bottle. How do they taste? These are crowd pleaser wines. They’re not complex and don’t need to be decanted and sniffed and analyzed. Just drink the wine. They taste good. The novelty is interesting and this is sure to add some excitement to your new year’s celebrations. www.xxivkarat.com

Kiwi WoodKraft recycled wood

Kiwi WoodKraft uses recycled wine barrels and Arizona mesquite to make wine bottle holders, candle holders, chairs and tables and a number of other interesting products. kiwiwoodkraft.com

Villa San-Juliette

2012 Cabernet Sauvignon | 2013 Sauvignon Blanc

I received a small box containing two bottles of wine one day. I didn’t know who it was from, the winery didn’t seem familiar and I didn’t remember talking to anyone about these wines recently. I decided to give them a try, knowing nothing. I didn’t look up the wines website, just poured and decanted for 30 minutes at 68F, starting with the Cabernet. After tasting both wines, each over a 3 day period and with my tasting notes complete I ventured onto the Villa San-Juliette website.

I was very surprised to see a photo of Nigel Lythgoe laughing, holding a glass of wine, to say the least. Nigel Lythgoe is an international superstar. He developed and produced “Pop Idol” which was created by Simon Fuller. Pop idol became a global television show, and in 2002 Nigel moved to the U.S. to develop and produce “American Idol” and he became a producer and judge on “So You Think You Can Dance”.

40 years ago Nigel met Ken Warwick at school and they became friends. Both ended up in the entertainment industry as producers and both moved to the U.S. in 2002 to work on American Idol. Ken was a producer of the show from 2002-2013 and more recently he has been producing “America’s got talent”

So according to the info on the website, these two guys were having dinner in Vegas back in 2004 and they asked the sommelier to surprise them with a Cabernet. The Som brought out something that apparently caused them to purchase a 168 acre vineyard in Paso Robles! That’s probably not exactly how quickly it happened. In my mind’s eye I can see a hilarious scene where the two super stars and their British Accents sounding like judges on So You Think You Can Dance and getting really excited about the wine suddenly declare “We must buy Paso Robles at once!”

The pair bought the vineyard and immediately set about a major overhaul and renovation. The 168 acre property now has over 130 acres under vine with 11 varieties. The vineyard also received SIP certification in 2013. SIP is a very rigorous “Sustainability In Practice” certification and is much more holistic than simple “Green” or “Organic” certifications.

Also in 2013,Matt Ortman was hired as wine maker. Matt has a long background in wine that comes from his father, who was wine maker at Spring Mountain Vineyards, and a consultant at Cain, Far Niente and Shafer. Matt auditioned for the “role” of wine maker at Villa San Juliette. Nigel and Ken and a bunch of wine makers present their wines for a blind tasting and in a scene rather like one of their TV show’s they picked the top contestant! Matt’s wines took first and second place.

Villa San Juliette 2013 Sauvignon Blanc, Paso Robles

Pale straw in color with lychee and a bit of honeysuckle and melon on the nose. The palate is dominated by citrus and searing acidity with notes of lemon grass. If you like your Sauvignon Blanc to have some kick to it, then this is the wine for you. The alcohol weighs in at 14.4% and although not over bearing there is a warm glow from the alcohol that manifested itself more on the 2nd and 3rd day of the bottle being open. Retail price is $14. A decent wine though not terribly complex, a basic summer wine. Weekly Wine Journal rating: 86 points.

Villa San Juliette 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles

Deep purple in color, with a nose of blackberry and rose petals. The palate is nice and smooth, rich with currant and black cherry. The alcohol comes in at 14.5%. This wine drank nicely all throughout the 3 day tasting period. The blend on this wine is quite interesting with 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Alicante Bouschete, 9% Syrah and 3% Cabernet Franc. There is a texture and mouthfeel to the wine vaguely familiar, a little like “Rutherford dust”. This fine dust like texture is nice, gives the weight a more weighty feel. This wine would pair equally well with steak as with a meaty tomato based pasta. The retail price is about $20 but if you can get the wine for $15 this would be an exceptional value. Weekly Wine Journal Rating: 88 points

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2012 OZV | Old Zin Vines

The oldest continually operating winery in Lodi California was purchased by Rudy Maggio and the Reynolds (Don and Rocky) back in 2001. Lodi, in case you are unfamiliar, has been referred to as “The Zinfandel capital of the world.” I found that quote on Wikipedia, but the footnote link is broken. Even though, the description sounds good to me! Currently there are over 80 wineries and over 100,000 acres of premium grapes planted in the Lodi A.V.A.

Lodi received its official American Viticultural Area (A.V.A.) status in 1986, and is located at the east end of Sacramento/San Joaquin delta. The town of Lodi itself is located about 15 miles north of Stockton. Now that you know where, here’s the why. The Lodi AVA’s primary characteristics are: A long growing season, distinctive sandy soils, and cool ocean breezes coming from the San Francisco area which produce a “Mediterranean” Climate.

After Rudy & the Reynolds purchased the Oak Ridge Winery they set about a major transformation starting in 2002. They rebuilt the winery and today, in addition to making their own wines they operate, custom crush, bottling, labeling, marketing and wine storage facilities. Rudy and Rocky didn’t start their adventures in the wine business with the purchase of this winery. In fact, their family farming histories span 5 generations. In addition to the Oak Ridge Winery they have an impressive collection of heritage vineyards (more on that in future articles).

So, how about that wine? The 2012 OZV Old Zin Vines is a simple straight forward wine. It’s a big ripe jammy Zinfandel. The palate is dominated by blackberry jam, blackberry compote and blackberry pie filling. The wine is pleasantly light on the alcohol (13.95%) and doesn’t show any alcoholic “heat” typical of higher octane wines. Although not terribly complex, the wine is a crowd pleaser and at a suggested retail of under $15 it’s a great deal. Weekly Wine Journal rating: 89 points

I had a chance to meet Dan Cohn for dinner earlier this fall. We met for an old school steak dinner at the famous Durant’s steakhouse in Phoenix Arizona and of course to taste some wines.

Dan, is the son of Bruce Cohn, founder of the winery. Bruce is also the manager of a band called The Doobie Brothers, and has been since 1970. Bruce founded the B.R. Cohn winery in 1984, but he had already been running a vineyard and selling grapes for 10 years by that time.

I sat down in one of the booths at Durant’s and waited for Dan. He arrived a few minutes after me and greeted me warmly. The first thing I noticed about Dan is that he is a straight forward completely un-shy (if that’s even a word) kind of guy. Or at least that is how he comes across. He gets straight to the point, he’s confident but has a sort of boyish sense of humor. In talking about how he currently runs the whole show for B.R. Cohn, he almost laughed:

“My office is the bedroom I grew up in, like literally the tasting room and offices is the house I grew up in.” Suddenly he stood up and walked over to another table and greeted the guests. They had just ordered a bottle of B.R. Cohen with their dinner and he quickly went over and thanked them personally. The guests were quite old and I could tell they didn’t quite know what to make of this guy. He was wearing a purple corduroy type blazer and had a paisley shirt and a fat tie on. He looked like a rock star. A little later on at another table a young couple also ordered some of his wine and he raised a glass to them, their waiter let them know who he was and they were definitely interested.

Dan talked a little bit about winery life, but for the most part he was persistent in asking me questions. While not the greatest for pulling information, I did find it flattering and interesting. Not a lot of wine makers and people in the business want to know about the details of wine blogging. His interest was genuine and I appreciated that.

When it came time to order, of course we had steak, and paired it with B.R. Cohn’s Olive Hill Estate Cabernet.

B.R. Cohn 2010 Olive Hill Estate Cabernet, Sonoma

This wine is 100% Cabernet, aged 24 months in French Oak. The flavors of anise and mint dominate the palate. This wine would pair very well with Lamb, although it did go quite nicely with the steak as well. 3,000 cases were produced and the suggested retail is $55.

B.R. Cohn 2012 Gold Label, Cabernet Sauvignon

I was surprised by how different the Gold Label is to the Olive Hill. This wine is solid, still young and will benefit from several hours of decanting in the near future. The blend is 67% Napa County and 33% Sonoma County, all Cabernet. Each lot is aged separately in French Oak. 4,800 cases were produced and the suggested retail is $40. I was surprised to see the price at only $40. This a really good deal for that price. The wine is ideally suited to prime cuts of beef grilled over an open flame.
B.R. Cohn Website

You’ve heard of pairing wine with dessert, but have you heard of wine from the desert?

Over the last 5 years areas other than California have stepped into the national spotlight as wine producing regions. Washington State, Oregon and the Finger Lakes region of New York State have earned solid reputations for high quality fruit and wine making.

Arizona’s entrance into the wine world started a little more recently. Pioneers like Al Buhl and R.W. Webb began developing vineyards and producing wine 25-35 years ago in South Eastern Arizona. In the last 5-6 years the Arizona Wine industry has seen explosive growth, almost doubling in size. This is due in large part to the increased notoriety brought to the region by rock stars like Maynard James Keenan ( Tool, A Perfect Circle,Puscifer) as well as rock star wine makers like EricGlomski.

Arizona Judgment 2010 Judges

Let’s not forget the contribution made by rock star restauranteurs Pavle Milic and Charlene Badman, owners of Scottsdale’s restaurant FnB. These two pioneered Arizona wine in a big way back in 2010 when their restaurant featured an all Arizona wine list. In the summer of 2010 they organized “The Judgment of Arizona”. They brought in major wine personalities from all over the United States and had them blind taste Arizona wines and major wines from around the world, reminiscent of 1976’s Judgment of Paris. The consensus at the time was that there were some world class wines being produced in Arizona. Unfortunately, there were also some wines that were not world-class. Gary Vaynerchuk noted that (I’m summarizing) that in order for the region to be taken more seriously, the consistency of quality in the region would have to improve. That was over 4 years ago, and in that time huge strides have been made. Arizona is now recognized as a region capable of producing world-class wines, it’s not just a novelty “wine from the desert”.

But the growth can’t all be credited to just two wine makers, a chef and a handsome Colombian from Brooklyn. The industry as a whole, and all the wine makers have really worked hard to increase the reputation of the region. They’ve done this by focusing on quality not quantity. Although the quantity has definitely increased, this is a by product of producing superior wine.

Each November since 2009 the Arizona Wine Grower’s Association (AWGA) and the Arizona Republic have teamed up to recognize excellence in Arizona wine making. Every November, for the past 6 years “The festival on the farm at South Mountain” has allowed the public to taste 30-40+ Arizona wineries all in the same place. The night before the festival there is an exclusive awards banquet held at Quiessence restaurant (on the farm as well). The Arizona Republic Wine competition is held in private in October, with the results released to the public on the night of the Awards banquet. This year is different, however as the award winners have been announced over the last several weeks.

Stone Grove

This year’s Awards Banquet featured a little change in venue as well. The banquet was moved to “Stone Grove” instead of Quiessence. Stone Grove is located right next to Quiessence, so it’s really the same place, just a bigger more open setting. With all the interest in Arizona Wine these days, the logistics of hosting this event in the little farm house that is Quiessence were becoming difficult.

I talked with some of the wine makers including Kent Callaghan, winner of this year’s “Best in Show” and first place “Grower’s Cup, Red” for his 2012Tannat. I asked Kent about his Tannat and Tannat in general. He said it’s a pretty interesting grape. Good yield, but a little difficult to work with. He’s tried blending it with other grapes but the result was a “dumb wine” as he put it.

Kent Callaghan

He said it would be interesting to see how it turns out in a few years, but his immediate impression was that it wasn’t working. Callaghan Vineyards only has a half acre of Tannat planted and only 60 cases of wine were made. The wine is sold out, mostly to Callaghan’s wine club members. Luckily for wine lovers Callaghan’s “Padre” which tied with Dos Cabezas Wineworks for 2nd place in the Grower’s Cup Red is still available. See the link at the bottom of the article for Callaghan’s website.

I also had a chance to follow Todd and KellyBostock from DosCabezas Wineworks around. Todd and Kelly were featured in an independent film about wine titled “American Wine Story”. Todd has recently discovered the concrete slabs around the winery make an awesome street hockey surface and has developed what he believes to be the best family hockey team in Sonoita. Dos Cabezas Wineworks did exceptionally well this year, winning 3 first place awards for their Rose, Syrah and Rhone Style blends.

Todd and Kelly Bostock

Finally I chatted briefly with Patti King, executive director of the Arizona Wine Grower’s Association. She was very pleased with the turn out and said that the Festival on the Farm (nov 15th) sold 300-400 more tickets this year than last year. This represents about a 30% increase!

In recognizing excellence, the AWGA and the Arizona Republic have really helped to create a sense of community and raised the local profile of Arizona Wine. Just a few years ago, even Arizonans were skeptical of Arizona Wine. Today the industry has a solid reputation for producing world class wines. The consistency that Gary Vaynerchuk talked about 4 years ago has really come a long way. It would be interesting to gather together the judges from Judgment of Arizona and try again.
PHOTO GALLERY OF THE AWARDS BANQUET

Last week I dined at Eddie V’s Prime Seafood restaurant’s Scottsdale Arizona location. Although Eddie V’s is very well known for their prime seafood, I decided to try out the steak. But not before trying the crab cakes.

Looking towards the bar and live music

First, I was pleasantly surprised by the setting. From the outside it’s easy to miss Eddie V’s, even if you’re looking for it. It is located on the very north east corner of Scottsdale Quarter, kind of in the back. From the outside it just looks like a concrete building with nice doors. But as soon as you walk in, a total transformation occurs. The atmosphere is definitely that of a restaurant that serves prime seafood and steak. The lighting is toned down, even a little dark but your eyes will soon adjust to it.

The glass walk thru wine cellar

There is a glass wine cellar that you walk through to get to one half of the restaurant. The other half of the restaurant is set up more like a wine bar, with live music at night.

The reason I was at Eddie V’s was to experience the dining firsthand so that I could tell you about something big that Eddie V’s is doing. For the first time ever, they will be open on Thanksgiving day, serving traditional Thanksgiving food!

Call them right now to reserve your table as this will definitely sell out 480 730 4800

Back to my dining experience… I have to say, that without a doubt the giant crab cake I had was the best I have ever had. I consisted of ONLY crab meat and some seasoning. Just deliciously juicy crab meat, with a dipping sauce on the side. I was trying to save room for the steak, but I ended up eating the whole thing, and it’s not a small crab cake either.

I paired the crab cake with a glass of Chateau Montelena Chardonnay on the suggestion from managing partner, Richard Schumacher. Although I am quite capable of choosing my own wine, these days I’ve actually started making a habit of going on the recommendations of the people running the establishments I visit. Richard and I talked for a little while about the whole new idea of being open on Thanksgiving. Luckily for Eddie V’s their sister restaurant, Capital Grille has already done this once before and Richard was able to quiz them on what they learned. Turkey is not steak, you can’t just grille up more turkey, you have to plan half a day or more in advance to have enough food ready for all your guests. Richard is a friendly fellow and a true restaurant professional.

For steak I tried out both the 22 ounce bone in Rib eye and the New York Strip, both prime. Again on Richard’s recommendation I had a glass of Sequoia Grove 2010 Cabernet. The steak was awesome. I mean really awesome. The steak was sizzling hot and cooked perfectly medium rare just like I asked. The New York Strip was actually the best NY Strip I’ve ever had. Absolutely perfect, tender, juicy with a full robust flavor. I’m a steak connoisseur just like with wine, and I’ve eaten at Steakhouses all across the United States, and this was the best. Look for Eddie V’s to be in my “Best of 2014” list coming out at the end of the year. Hey, the Rib eye wasn’t bad either. Just kidding, it was awesome as well. I find that many times Rib eye’s can contain too many large fatty areas, leaving disconnected chunks of meat for you to dig through. Will the marbling in this particular Rib eye allowed me to eat everything except the bone. That’s perfect in my book.

One day I will have a wine cellar like this!

The Sequoia Grove Cabernet was a nice pairing as well. At $24 a glass it is the most expensive wine on the wine by the glass list. Luckily there are about 400 wines available by the bottle and the by the bottle prices are a lot more reasonable. Here’s some examples: B.R Cohen “Silver Label” Cabernet $52, Duckhorn Cabernet $75 and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars “Artemis” $99. Not bad for a prime restaurant, not bad at all.

Last but not least was dessert! Vanilla ice cream with chocolate cake just oozing with warm melting chocolate on the inside, and big enough for two.

Set amongst the 100+ year old pecan groves on The Farm at South Mountain, the event will feature over 30 Arizona wineries, wine education seminars, and a live auction. The idyllic setting is the legacy of Dwight Heard (yes, from the Heard Museum). In addition to tasting Arizona wines, guests get a chance to meet and greet the wine makers and principals of the various wineries. The intimate and casually relaxed atmosphere is a great way to really get to know the wines, the people and new friends!

In addition to the tastings, the festival offers educational seminars and tastings. You might get to taste some rare wines, as the wine makers often bring wine from their personal collection, not available to the public. Last year Maynard James Keenan of Caduceus Cellars brought a few bottles of his ’08 Judith, which had long since sold out even at it’s initial offering of $100 a bottle.

Later in the afternoon the live auction becomes the center of attention. The real live auctioneers are very entertaining even if you’re not bidding. If you’re bidding you could walk away with some truly amazing steals. In years past wine maker dinners, wine collections, and amazing vacations have fetched top dollar.

If you’re looking for something more intimate you should check out the Arizona Wine Grower’s Association Awards Banquet. This event is held the Friday night before the festival. For $75 you’ll get to taste this year’s Arizona Republic Wine Competition winners paired with amazing dishes at Stone Grove at the Farm at South Mountain. Stone Grove is located right next to Quiessence restaurant, nestled in very back of the farm. Arizona wine makers will be on hand for guests to mingle with throughout the night. Only 100 tickets are available for the Friday night event.

Whether you’re a sommelier or just getting into wine, there is no better event than this to experience what Arizona wine has to offer.